Greek Mythical Gods as Matchmakers

Aphrodite

In the Trojan saga, Aphrodite is the central matchmaking goddess. She promises the Trojan prince, Paris, that she can make Helen, the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda, his wife. Aphrodite informs Paris that she will make Helen fall in love with him and follow him back to Troy. At one point in the epic poem "The Iliad," Paris engages in a duel with King Menelaus, the husband of Helen. The two men fight over the fate of Helen, the woman they both love. Just as King Menelaus reaches the upper hand in the fight, Aphrodite rescues Paris and brings him and Helen to Paris' bedchamber. In another Aphrodite myth, the sculptor Pygmalion, falls in love with a beautiful female statue named Galatea that he creates. The love goddess, determined to play matchmaker and fix up the man who once claimed he would never marry, brings the statue to life. Once the statue becomes a woman of flesh and blood, Galatea marries Pygmalion.

In Greek mythology, Eros shoots his arrows at unsuspecting youths to make them fall in love. One of the most well known myths featuring Eros appears in Roman author Apuleius' novel "Metamorphoses," and tells how Eros -- or Cupid to Romans -- inadvertently becomes his own matchmaker. In the story, Psyche is the youngest of three princesses, and many believe that she is the reincarnation of Venus (Aphrodite to the Greeks). Venus, furious by the adulation Psyche receives, orders her son, Cupid, to make Psyche fall in love with the vilest of humankind. As he sneaks into her room, Cupid accidentally stabs himself with his own love arrow, which causes him to fall in love with Psyche. After many trials and tribulations that force the two apart, Psyche and Cupid reunite and marry.

In the saga of the Argonauts, the goddesses Hera and Athena ask Aphrodite to convince her son, Eros, to shoot an arrow at the sorcerer Medea. Hera and Athena believe that if Medea falls in love with Jason, son of the king of Iolcus, his mission to obtain the treasure of the Golden Fleece will succeed since Medea has magical ointment to protect Jason from harm. Aphrodite convinces Eros to shoot an arrow at Medea, which causes Medea to fall madly in love with Jason and help him on his quest. In another myth, Aphrodite bids her son to shoot love arrows at a young maiden, Hero, and a young man, Leander. A strong passion grows between Hero and Leander. Leander makes it his mission to visit Hero in her tower by the sea by swimming at night across the Hellespont to secretly be with her each night. One stormy night, Leander swims to meet Hero but drowns amid the violent storm at sea before he can reach his true love.

In one Greek myth, the god Zeus decides to play the role of a matchmaker. After Aphrodite boasts that she never falls in love with mortals, Zeus decides to intervene in Aphrodite's love life. He fills her with a passion for Anchises, a young man who herds cattle. Aphrodite visits Anchises disguised as a mortal and has sex with him. From their union, Aphrodite later gives birth to Aeneas. In another myth, the god Poseidon helps a youth named Idas woo the girl of his dreams. Idas is in love with a girl named Marpessa, but Marpessa's father, Evenus, will not give Idas his consent to marry his daughter. Poseidon decides to loan Idas his chariot to help fetch Marpessa. Idas uses the chariot because it moves swiftly and Evenus will not be able to catch up to the vehicle to stop the runaway couple. Idas and Marpessa make their quick escape from Evenus and elope.